(Adds Greek vaccinations, early Dutch discovery of variant,
Oxford University, quotes)
* Drugmaker's CEO warns of 'material drop' in effectiveness
* Markets fall on fears of prolonged pandemic
* Time needed to see if vaccines work against Omicron
* Variant was first detected in Netherlands on Nov. 19
* Japan reports first case as new variant spreads
By Ludwig Burger and Emma Thomasson
FRANKFURT/BERLIN, Nov 30 (Reuters) - The chief executive of
drugmaker Moderna set off fresh alarm bells in
financial markets on Tuesday with a warning that existing
COVID-19 vaccines would be less effective against the new
Omicron variant than they have been against Delta.
Major European stock markets fell around 1.5% in early
trade, Tokyo's Nikkei index closed down 1.6%, crude oil futures
shed more than 3%, and the Australian dollar hit a
one-year low as Stephane Bancel's comments spurred fears that
vaccine resistance https://www.reuters.com/world/how-worried-should-we-be-about-omicron-variant-2021-11-27
may prolong the pandemic.
"There is no world, I think, where (the effectiveness) is
the same level?.?.?. we had with Delta," Bancel told the
Financial Times https://www.ft.com/content/27def1b9-b9c8-47a5-8e06-72e432e0838f.
"I think it's going to be a material drop. I just don't know
how much because we need to wait for the data. But all the
scientists I've talked to?.?.?. are like 'this is not going to
be good'," Bancel said.
Balancing that, however, European Medicines Agency (EMA)
executive director Emer Cooke told the European Parliament that
even if the new variant becomes more widespread, existing
vaccines will continue to provide protection.
Andrea Ammon, who chairs the European Centre for Disease
prevention and Control (ECDC), said 42 cases of the variant had
been confirmed in 10 EU countries. There were
another six "probable" cases.
She said the cases were mild or without symptoms, although
in younger age groups.
The University of Oxford said there was no evidence that
current vaccines would not prevent severe disease from Omicron,
but that it was ready to rapidly develop an updated version of
its shot, developed with AstraZeneca, if
necessary.
Moderna did not reply to a Reuters request for comment, or
say when it expects to have data on the effectiveness of its
vaccine on Omicron, which the World Health Organization (WHO)
says carries a very high risk of infection surges.
News of its emergence wiped roughly $2 trillion off global
stocks on Friday, after it was identified in southern Africa and
announced on Nov. 25.
And yet Dutch authorities said the variant had been detected
in the Netherlands as early as Nov. 19, before two flights
arrived from South Africa that were known to have carried the
virus.
The WHO and scientists https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/how-fast-does-it-spread-scientists-ask-whether-omicron-can-outrun-delta-2021-11-29
have also said it could take weeks to understand whether
Omicron is likely to cause severe illness or escape protection
against immunity induced by vaccines.
Cooke said lab tests for "cross neutralisation" would take
about two weeks. If there were a need to change COVID-19
vaccines, new ones could be approved within three or four
months, she added.
"Vaccination will likely still keep you out of the
hospital," said John Wherry, director of the Penn Institute for
Immunology in Philadelphia.
Moderna and fellow drugmakers BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson
are working on vaccines that specifically target Omicron
in case existing shots are not effective against it. Moderna has
also been testing a higher dose of its existing
booster.
Uncertainty about the new variant has triggered global
alarm, with border closures casting a shadow over a nascent
economic recovery from the two-year-old pandemic, just as parts
of Europe see a fourth wave of infections as winter sets in.
Japan, the world's third largest economy, confirmed its
first case on Tuesday, in a traveller from Namibia. Australia
found that a person with Omicron had visited a busy shopping
centre in Sydney while probably infectious.
BORDER CONTROLS
Countries around the world have tightened border controls in
an attempt to prevent a recurrence of last year's strict
lockdowns and steep economic downturns.
Many have focused, to South Africa's fury, on banning
flights to and from southern Africa.
Britain and the United States have both pushed their booster
programmes. England made face masks compulsory once again in
shops and on public transport. International arrivals will have
to self-isolate until they get a negative result in a PCR test
for viral DNA.
Greece said it would make vaccination compulsory for the
over-60s, the group seen as most vulnerable to the new
coronavirus.
Australia has delayed the reopening of its international
borders by two weeks, less than 36 hours before foreign students
and skilled migrants were to be allowed back.
In Germany, a hotspot, the average seven-day infection rate
fell slightly for the first time in three weeks as officials
considered imposing tougher measures.
The global curbs on travellers from southern Africa have
highlighted the inequality of vaccine distribution, which may
have given the virus more opportunities to mutate.
The passenger liner Europa was docking in Cape Town on
Tuesday in what was meant to be the official start of the first
cruise ship season in South Africa's top tourist hub since the
pandemic.
After Omicron was discovered while they were at sea, many
passengers were expected to fly straight home.
(Reporting by Reuters bureaux worldwide; Writing by Himani
Sarkar and Kevin Liffey; Editing by Shri Navratnam, Andrew
Cawthorne and Nick Macfie)
Astrazeneca (AZN)
